Legal Issues Relating to the Bedouin in Israel

Question 1

What is the current Bedouin population in Israel?

Answer 1

About 240,500 (with over 50 percent below the age of 18).

Question 2

Describe the Bedouin lifestyle.

Answer 2

Nomadic and semi-nomadic lifestyle — many live mainly off agriculture and grazing the land. Polygamy is not uncommon. Women marry at a relatively young age.

Question 3

Describe the socioeconomic situation of the Bedouin population.

Answer 3

Very poor; lowest in the country.

Question 4

How did the Bedouins live until the 1900s?

Answer 4

Until the 1900s, the Bedouin of the Middle East, including those of the Negev, were livestock-raising nomads whose movements were dictated by a constant search for pasture and water.

Question 5

What segment of the Bedouin population is the subject of controversy in Israel?

Answer 5

The 100,000 or so that live in “unrecognized villages.” Most of the Bedouins who claim ownership over and reside on their ancestral lands have remained in these villages, refusing to relocate to the state planned towns. Illegal construction is widespread — approximately 50,000 to 60,000 unauthorized building structures.

Question 6

Are Bedouins Israeli citizens?

Answer 6

Those that remained in Israel during the Declaration of Independence are Israeli citizens.

Question 7

What is the result of Israel refusing to recognize “unrecognized villages”?

Answer 7

State does not recognize illegal construction or settlements, and so is unwilling to provide basic services (electricity, water, sewage, roads, infrastructure) to “unrecognized villages.” The residents of the settlement pay no municipal taxes. On the other hand, the State of Israel has certain fundamental responsibilities towards its citizens, which it cannot disregard even when dealing with “illegal” settlers.

Question 8

Forum Co-Existence in Negev v Minister of Infrastructure.

Answer 8

The State of Israel is bound to provide some critical infrastructure to its citizens (such a bridge for children to cross a polluted river to get to school), even in “unrecognized villages.”

Question 9

Inyias al-Atrash v Minister of Health.

Answer 9

There is no right to electricity in “unrecognized villages” — the State of Israel is not obligated to connect homes in “unrecognized villages” to electricity as those that live in the places choose to live there knowing they would not be able to connect to basic infrastructure.

Question 10

Be’er Sheva District Court case with respect to the “unrecognized village” of Rahme.

Answer 10

In May 2009, the Be’er Sheva District Court ordered the Ministry of Education and the Yeruham Local Council to open a kindergarten in the unrecognized Bedouin village of Rahme before the start of the upcoming school year. Failure to provide educational framework for children constitutes a violation of the children’s right to education and equality.

Question 11

Hamid v The Minister of Interior.

Answer 11

The right to vote, while a fundamental right, may be temporarily denied/suspended in cases of illegal settlement.

Question 12

What was the decision of the Central Elections Committee for the April 2019 elections with regards to those living in “unrecognized villages”?

Answer 12

In recently held elections, the Central Elections Committee refused to have polling stations especially put in place for the residents of the “unrecognized villages”; as a result, non-governmental organizations had to conduct a quick funding campaign to provide transportation to the Bedouin residents of the “unrecognized villages” and enable them to exercise their right to vote.

Question 13

Abu Afash v Home Front Command.

Answer 13

With regards to illegal settlements or “unrecognized villages,” the High Court of Justice will defer to the Home Front Command when it comes to protection of their citizens. There is no inequality that exists if Bedouins receive the same amount of protection as Jewish citizens.

Question 14

Abdullah Abu Musa’ed et al v Water Commissioner and Israel Lands Administration.

Answer 14

The right to water deserves constitutional protection as part of the right to individual dignity under Israel’s Basic Law: Human Dignity and Freedom. At the same time, the Court held that the right to water is not absolute but must be balanced against the rights of the state by applying the criteria of reasonableness and proportionality.

Question 15

The Ottoman Land Code created which two categories of land pertinent to the Bedouin discussion?

Answer 15

Mewat and miri.

Question 16

Mewat.

Answer 16

Abandoned, neglected land.

Question 17

Miri.

Answer 17

Land owned by the state; the actual cultivators of the land were essentially tenants of the state, although they were entitled to pass on the right of cultivation to their heirs.

Question 18

The Ottoman Land Code required what to cultivate and develop Mewat?

Answer 18

Consent of the authorities (in order to get title for land as miri).

Question 19

Mewat Land Ordinance.

Answer 19

Following this ordinance, one cannot revive dead land without approval of the authorities. Only if revived the land before 1921 could apply for claim to ownership. Any person who without obtaining the consent of the authorities cultivates dead land shall obtain no right to a title deed for such land and further will be liable to be prosecuted for trespass.

Question 20

What happened to those possessing land that had already been revived without authorization of the authorities prior to the publication of the Mewat Land Ordinance?

Answer 20

They had two months to notify the Registrar of Lands.

Question 21

What was the effect of the establishment of the State of Israel?

Answer 21

Many Bedouins were forced to flee during the war, and the Bedouin population mainly concentrated in an area called the Siyag (fence) between Arad, Be’er Sheva, and Dimona in the northeastern area of the Negev.

Question 22

Land Law.

Answer 22

The 1969 Land Law does away with the category of mewat and provides that all such land is state land unless registered in accordance with British or Ottoman law.

Question 23

With the Land Law, Bedouin may only prevail in getting land if they can convince the authorities or the courts that…

Answer 23

Their land is not mewat, but miri.

Question 24

Why is the claim to land under the Land Law complicated?

Answer 24

The problem is that Bedouin ownership claims are not clearly based on legal grounds, but rather on their own tradition and the period of time they occupied the land with limited documentation. Thisis further complicated because these claims do not just include claims to ownership of land currently under possession but also land previously under their possession or which is under possession of others (trespass).

Question 25

Al-Huashela v State of Israel.

Answer 25

Individuals that failed to notify the authorities following the enactment of the Mewat Land Ordinance have no right to land. Revival of the land requires proof of permission to possess the land, as well as uninterrupted cultivation.

Question 26

Al-Uqbi v State of Israel.

Answer 26

Claimants came better prepared than in Al-Huashela v State of Israel, and came with things like contracts. However, the Supreme Court found that Bedouin tribes did not have legal autonomy prior to establishment of the State of Israel. Even if Ottoman authorities experienced some difficulty controlling the tribes, this cannot be interpreted as a deliberate policy of granting autonomy and recognizing an internal system of norms as a matter of law.

Question 27

What is needed for political settlement of the Bedouin dilemma?

Answer 27

Comprehensive settlement/compensation scheme, determining status of “unrecognized villages,” providing for alternative housing arrangements, need to address broader socioeconomic problems, and the need to allow for broader expansion of the Negev area.

Question 28

Goldberg Committee Report.

Answer 28

Emphasized the need to include the Bedouin in the final resolution of the matter and to acknowledge that the Bedouin have historical ties to the region and that many of them were forcibly displaced to the Siyag following the war, such that they cannot be justly characterized as trespassers even though there has been illegal construction and trespassing to other lads since. Need to recognize as many of the “unrecognized villages” as possible as well as the need for a comprehensive settlement to address issues of urban development and planning, education, and employment.

Question 29

Prawer Plan.

Answer 29

Controversial proposal — if the claimant is in possession of the agricultural land, then may grant 50 percent of the land claimed (this is compensation in land). If the land is not in the possession of the claimant, then may provide monetary compensation for 50 percent, with possibility for the claimant to obtain instead an alternative piece of land. Whole settlement process must be bounded in time (five years).

Question 30

Begin Plan.

Answer 30

According to recommendations, should attempt to recognize as many “unrecognized villages” and turn them into recognized villages. However, there will be a need also for some residents to be displaced as their place of residence is too remote and cannot be integrated into urban development plans. Need an element of continuity among the communities for infrastructure purposes (water, electricity, etc.). Significantly, the big difference between the Begin Plan and the Prawer Plan had to do with compensation — claimants may obtain full compensation (not just value of 50 percent of the land claimed). Compensation can be partially in land or in monetary compensation depending on a complicated formula.

Question 31

Violent Incidents in Umm al-Hiran.

Answer 31

Decision was taken by Israeli authorities to evacuate the village and relocate the Bedouins of Umm al-Hiran to the Bedouin township of Hura. As officers converged on Umm al-Hiran, Yaqoub Mousa Abu Al-Qia’an, 47, a teacher and father of 12, packed a few belongings into his sports utility vehicle and drove from his house, telling friends that he did not wish to witness its destruction. Soon afterward, he rammed into a group of officers, killing First Sergeant Erez Levi. 34. Yaqoub Mousa Abu Al-Qia’an was fatally shot by police.

Question 32

al-Khan al-Ahmar Bedouin Village.

Answer 32

In 1953, Jahalin Bedouins relocated or driven from Negev by soldiers of state of Israel. For years, state authorities have sought to have the Jahalin Bedouins (180 inhabitants) removed and find an alternative location for them. On October 17, 2018, the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court issued a statement expressing concern, framing the evacuation of the site as a ‘war crime.’ By all appearances, the Israeli government has been responsive to the pressure exerted by the international community and has for the time being evacuation has been postponed.

Question 33

Offence of polygamy within Israeli criminal law.

Answer 33

In the past, the prosecution’s policy was not to enforce the offence of polygamy. However, recently, the Attorney General’s directive states that criminal law must be enforced in every new case of polygamous marriages that were held after its publication.